1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a helical spring toy and a response device therefor and in particular a device which combines the action of a helical coil spring toy with a response each time the wave of expanded coils changes direction.
2. Description of the Related Art
A helical coil spring toy that produces an action is well known in the art, such type of toys being popular for many years under the trademark SLINKY. The helical coil spring toy comprises a metal or plastic type helical coil, which can be easily compressed or stretched by a small child. The helical coil spring toy can be placed at the top of a stairway so that when correctly propelled the helical coil spring toy travels end over end thereby appearing to "walk" down the stairs. The toy can also be utilized in other ways, for example by holding one end in each hand and then exciting the toy to produce a wavelike motion of the spring.
Several prior art inventions combine the action of a spring type toy with some form of a sound response. U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,591, for example, discloses a hand-held helical coil spring toy having a tone generator at one end. Varying musical tones are generated as the spring is manually compressed and released based upon the amount of pressure with which the tone generator is grasped. Although this device generates a musical tone when the tone generator is stimulated, no sound is produced when the end not having the tone generator is excited.
Another hand-held helical coil spring toy is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,635, and has a resonator and diaphragm that amplify the natural frequency of the spring. This device must be manually activated, and as a further disadvantage, does not produce electronically generated sounds. As a further example of the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 4,904,222 discloses a response device having a signal generator attached to a flexible spring-like member. When the flexible member is waved, a sound is produced, which varies in relation to the amount of flexure. A first tone is produced with respect to an electronic oscillatory signal and a second tone is generated when the frequency of the oscillatory signal exceeds a predetermined value. This response device does not have a helical coil spring element.